


All That Glitters

by NoForkingClue



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, Alternate Universe - Human, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Period Typical Attitudes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:01:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27152167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoForkingClue/pseuds/NoForkingClue
Summary: When a priceless family heirloom was stolen you were forced to seek the aid of someone subtle and discreet but brilliant enough to help you find it.Hopefully the two of you can get along well enough to find it and save your reputation.
Relationships: Dhawan!Doctor/Reader, The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Reader
Comments: 9
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

You gave a cry of joy as the cork of the champagne bottle popped off. Your friends around you cheered and you took a large swig from the bottle. You parents had gone away on holiday to America which meant that you had free reign of the house. You jumped off of the table and pushed your way through the other party goers.

“Oh y/n! Y/n!” a shrill voice called out over the music, “Over here.”

You finally made your way over to where your friend Veronica was lounging. She had her arms wrapped two men each of which was holding a bottle of some sort of liquor.

“When you told me that you were going to put on a party I couldn’t believe it,” she cried, “It all makes so much sense now. Parents are away so we’ll come out and play!”

She quickly pulled the champagne bottle out of your hands and led the two men away.

“Just remember,” you called, “Not my parents room. Mother will surely send me away to a convent if anyone goes in there.”

“Oh you’re such a bore,” she called back, “If it wasn’t for you and your brother I would’ve thought that your parents never even used that room for its intended purpose!”

You wrinkled your nose at the image she put in your head before moving off to mingle with the crowd. Friends, acquaintances and even just people who knew the others all waved and cheered for you. You went to grab another bottle of champagne when a hand on your shoulder made you jump.

“So tell me,” said a smooth voice, “What made you throw this party now?”

You turned around and flung around arms around Oliver Parker. You had met him at university and you had quickly became friends. While your parents disapproved of the friendship they reluctantly accepted it due to the powerful connections his family had.

“Mother and father are away,” you explained as you pushed a drink into his hands, “And I thought why not have a little fun?”

“A little?” Oliver looked around the room, “Do you even know who half of these people are?”

“Dicky does.”

“Where is your brother?”

You shrugged.

“Probably in a room somewhere with several men and women all of which have varying degrees of morality and none of which are his wife.”

“How modern.”

You made a noise of agreement as you watched the party from the side lines. You were vaguely aware of an arm wrapping itself around your waist and you looked up at Oliver’s grinning face.

“Why don’t we have a little fun of our own?” he asked pulling out a small ornate box.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

*

You let out a soft groan as beaming light poured into your room.

“Not now,” you said, “It’s too early.”

“It’s almost eleven in the morning Miss l/n,” said the butler, Peterson, “Your brother instructed me to wake you up.”

“Since when did you ever take orders from him?”

“Since you’ve been taking up the entire sofa. You do realise you snore right?”

You opened your eyes and glared at your brother.

“Good night last night?” you asked, “How’s your _wife_.”

“Away.”

“Well that certainly explains a lot.”

“Here,” Richard pushed a drink into your hands, “Drink this.”

“What is it?”

“For your hangover.”

You quickly took a big gulp and almost spat it over. You glared at your laughing brother as you said,

“That’s foul. Where did you learn it?”

“Paris.”

“Of course.”

“In all seriousness it is meant to be good for you,” he flicked at your legs and you moved them so he could sit down, “Drink up little sister.”

You took another small sip and winced. The two of you lapsed into a comfortable silence as you bother nursed your hangovers. Surprisingly there wasn’t anyone else over and you suspected that Peterson and ushered them out before you woke up. A little tap on the door made you winced and Richard called out,

“Come.”

Peterson entered the room. He had a concerned look on his face as his gently shut the door behind him.

“I hope you don’t mind but I took the liberty of organising the tidy up after last night’s event.”

“Thank you,” you said, “Is that all.”

“No ma’am.”

“Then what?”

“As I was tidying up the first floor-“

“Get on with it man,” snapped Richard, “We haven’t got all day.”

Peterson gave him a look that clearly said- ‘yes you do. All you do is sit around while we do all the work for you’. However he didn’t say that and instead said,

“The door to your parents’ room was unlocked.”

You felt you blood turn to ice and you didn’t need to look at Richard to know that he had the same expression. You gently put your drink on a side table and said,

“The necklace?”

“I thought it was best to check for you.”

“And?”

He held out an oak box and opened it. Where once said a priceless diamond necklace surrounded by red silk there was nothing. You heard Richard drop his drink and you rubbed your eyes in disbelief.

“It’s missing.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Missing,” you said quietly, “How… How can it be missing?”

“It seems like someone has stolen it.” replied Peterson

“This is no time to get smart, man!” snapped Richard, “Who has stolen it?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know that, sir,” said Peterson, “That’ll require that police to be-“

“No,” you interrupted, “No police. No one else can know about this.”

“And how you propose it find it?” asked Richard

“We-“

“You. You’re the one who hosted this party.”

“Only because you’re the one who burst in with a gaggle of whores. What’s the matter, your wife not good enough for you?”

“Now see here you little-“

“Will both of you be quiet!”

You and Richard stopped arguing and looked over at Peterson in shock. Richard raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to snap but you placed a hand on his arm.

“I apologise for snapping,” said Peterson, “But we’ve got to think about this logically. How many people did you actually know who attended last nights… event?”

You and Richard shared a look and you sunk down into the sofa. Richard looked ashamed and turned around.

“Maybe about half,” you muttered, “And most of them were friends of friends.”

“Would you be able to find out everyone who attended?”

“Probably.”

“Then that’s a start.”

Peterson closed the box with a sharp snap making the two of you jump.

“Now I suggest the two of you clean up and make yourselves presentable,” he said, “We have a lot of work to do and get ours stories straight before I contact the police.”

You jumped to your feet.

“No police!”

“We don’t have much of a choice.”

You shook your head and sprinted out of the room. You heard Richard shout but you ignored him and ran into your parents’ room. The room was untouched and you marched towards the dressing table where they kept the necklace in a secret compartment.

It was a priceless diamond necklace with a large diamond pendant which was surrounded by sapphires. There were alternating diamonds and rubies up the chain and it was rumoured to date back to the Tudor era. Recently your father had made a modification to it where he had got someone to add each of your birthstones to the necklace. It was a priceless family heirloom that you let someone steal.

Much to your dismay it wasn't in its usual compartment. Part of you had hoped that Peterson was mistaken and just didn’t see it. You started pulling open drawers in desperation, hoping that someone had moved it as some sort of sick prank. You were aware of footsteps following you but you ignored them.

“Y/n.”

“You can help me look Richard,” you said moving towards the bed, “If we both look for it we’ll find it quicker.”

“It isn’t here.”

“How do you know?”

You started lifting up the pillows but Richard grabbed your wrist. You looked up at him and he shook his head. You let out a sob and collapsed onto the bed.

“This is all my fault.”

“I know,” he wrapped an arm around you, “I know.”

“I’m completely and utterly fucked.”

“No need for such vulgar language.”

“You’ve used worse.”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“Look, we’re getting off topic.”

“Mother and father will be so mad,” you said, “They’ll send me away from London to the countryside to grandma where it’s boring and I’ll have no fun. They’ll make me marry a country gentleman.”

“You might learn how to be respectable then.”

“I am respectable, Dicky.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“I need to find this,” you said, “My future and my sanity are at risk. You don’t want me to end up in Bedlam do you?”

Richard sighed. He’d never seen you like this before. Eventually he said,

“Look, I was talking with Peterson.”

“So?”

“Do you remember that trouble I was in with that servant girl a while back? What was he name again? Molly or Polly, something like that.”

“Emily. Her name was Emily. What about her? She isn’t asking for money again is she?”

“Oh heavens no! But do you remember the person I hired to get rid of her.”

“No,” you frowned, “Should I? And where is this going?”

“It’s just he helped me out of a rather sticky situation,” explained Richard, “And I was thinking he might do the same thing for you.”

“Is this one of you Bullingdon Club friends?”

“No, this person is actually intelligent. He used to be a doctor of some sort.”

“Used to be?”

“Don’t know the details,” Richard waved a hand, “That isn’t important.”

“But what if he killed someone and that’s why he isn’t a doctor anymore?”

Richard shrugged.

“Father knows worse people than murders,” he said, “Shouldn’t be any different to Christmas dinner meeting with him.”

“Alright,” you said, “Who is he?”

“He’s a Private Investigator. He goes by Doctor.”


	3. Chapter 3

The woman in the Doc’s office was unlike any other he’d seen before. She was standing with her back to the door and was inspecting the bookshelf in front of her. She looked over her shoulder when he shut the door loudly behind her before looking back at the books.

“Can I help you?” he asked

“I hope so.”

“Why don’t you sit down Miss…”

The woman turned around sharply and gave him a dazzling smile. Her hair was short and boyish, her hat flung carelessly on the desk. Her clothes were well made and fashionable but she had chosen to wear trousers rather than a skirt. Her fur coat had been draped over the back of the chair. She was wearing red lipstick and gave him a charming smile.

“L/n.”

“L/n,” he said slowly, “You’re not related to-“

“Richard,” she sighed, “Yes, unfortunately. He’s my brother.”

“Then no,” he said sitting down on the other side of the desk, “I can’t help you. I’ve already helped your family once and I made a promise to myself to never do that again.”

“Look,” you said, “You dealt with my brother, not me.”

“I’m sorry but no,” the Doc said pulling out some papers, “I already have enough work without some spoilt little Duchess coming in and acting as though she owns the place.”

“I’m not a Duchess,” you said sitting down opposite him, “My mother and father are titled but it won’t pass on to me.”

“You’ll marry a Duke then,” he said, “Keeping it in the family.”

“Excuse me?”

“Look,” he put down the paper and waved a hand at you, “Just look at you. Your outfit probably costs more than most people earn in a year. You can get away with dressing like a man because of your position. Nobody will question your choices because of who you are. You don’t care about who you hurt as long as you get to have a good time. Now good day Miss l/n.”

“And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“How clear is your conscience Doc?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Let me put it this way.” You rested your chin in your hand as you continued, “My brother paid you a lot of money to make his… little problem disappear. I know what you did. You ruined that poor girl’s reputation. Painted her as a whore who slept around with employers. Someone who had an extra side line to earn a bit of extra money. Am I correct?”

“That’s different.” The Doc said

“How?”

“I needed that money to eat, to live. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“So you’ll happily ruin someone else’s life as long as you get to continue to live yours?”

“Don’t twist my words.”

“The job I’m offering you if far less sordid than the one my brother wanted you to do.”

“I’m going to regret asking this,” he rubbed his eyes, “What’s the job?”

“A necklace has been stolen,” you said inspecting your finger nails, “I want you to help me find it.”

“Help _you_ find it?”

“Oh yes,” you said looking up, “I’m coming along. My reputation is at stake so I’m going to be with you every step of the way.”

The Doc look at you over steepled fingers. There was a sharp intelligence behind those eyes that promised to be a force to be reckoned with. You gave him a smile and continued,

“Your fee will be very good. And-”

“Right now I don’t need the money.” He interrupted

“And,” you continued as though he hadn’t cut across you, “I’ll throw in a little sweetener.”

“Sweetener?”

“Oh yes,” you gave him a sharp smile, “Despite you claiming to not need the money your offices are in a less than desirable location.”

“It saves on rent.”

“I have an apartment on Fleet Street. I’ll give that to you, as part of your fee, if you can locate my necklace.”

The made the Doc pause. An apartment on Fleet Street would certainly be worth putting up with your family again.

“Would I have to deal with your brother?” he asked

“Doc,” you put a hand on your heart, “I’m not a cruel woman. I wouldn’t wish anyone to have to deal with him. You already worked for him once and I think that was punishment in itself. You’ll only be working for me. My brother had nothing to do with this.”

“Ok,” he said, “We have a deal Miss l/n.”

“Oh good. I’m so looking forward to working with you.”

 _‘I’m not,’_ thought the Doc bitterly, _‘But I don’t exactly have much choice.’_


	4. Chapter 4

The Doc knocked on the door of the elegant Belgravia house. He looked around the street nervously, feeling very out of place. The streets were eerily quiet despite it being in the centre of London. The few people who did spare him a glance looked at him like he was something on the bottom of their shoe. It was clear that they viewed him as not belonging in their world.

The Doc gritted his teeth and knocked again. The sooner he was done with this job the better. He could have a respectable business and never see the likes of these sorts of people again. It was all for the long run, just find the necklace and be done with it. It probably fell under the bed and the Duchess was too precious to get on her knees to look for it. Easy job with a high reward. To his surprise the door was flung open and a butler looked down his nose at him.

 _‘Great,’_ thought the Doc, _‘Even the servants think they’re better than everyone else just because they work in a prestigious address. Whatever happened to class solidarity?’_

“Yes?” asked the butler

“I’m here to see Miss y/n l/n.”

“Servants entrance is around the back.”

The door was slammed in his face. The Doc blinked and sighed. If he had a pound for every time that had happened to him he wouldn’t have to work ever again. He took a deep breath and knocked again. The door was swung open and the butler said,

“I told you-“

“I’m the Doctor,” the Doc said, “I was hired to find a missing neck-“

“Keep your voice down,” hissed the butler, “And wait down there in the street. I’ll… inform Miss l/n that you are here.”

 _‘Think of the money Theta,’_ he thought as the door was closed slightly, _‘Just think of the money.’_

He didn’t move down to the street like he was instructed. He was too stubborn, plus being up there meant he could hear what was being said.

“Miss l/n,” he heard the butler call, “There’s a foreign man here to see you.”

_‘Foreign? I’m from Stockport.’_

“Foreign?” he heard you say, “I don’t- Oh, yes! I know who you mean!”

The front door was opened yet again only this time it was you. Seeing your face was only still better than the butler’s and you quickly ushered him in.

“You’ll have to excuse Peterson,” you said, “He can be a little-“

“Bigoted?”

Your smiled strained slightly at the interruption but you continued,

“I was going to say old fashioned.”

“How diplomatic of you.”

“I do try,” you gestured towards the staircase, “Shall we continued.”

“Doc? Doctor Theta, I thought that was you! How many years has it been?”

The Doc winced when he heard your brother’s voice. From the look on your face you had the same reaction as him.

“Not long enough.” He said quietly although not quietly enough. While your brother didn’t seem to hear you did. You mouth twitched slightly as you tried to repress a smile.

“Not now Dickie,” you said, “We have work to do.”

“All work and no play,” he said, “You weren’t like that the other night.”

“And we all know what happened then.”

“Learning from your mistakes,” he called as you and the Doc walked up the stairs, “How unusual.”

“You’ll have to excuse him,” you said to the Doc, “I don’t think married life suits him.”

“Then why get married?”

“Because it’s expected of us,” you said slightly shocked, “Dickie’s marriage had been arranged from birth.”

“And yours.”

“I’m the second child and a woman,” you gave him a bitter smile, “Any rich man will do. Mother and father will find someone. Ah, here we are!”

You waved a hand at an ornate oak door.

“My parent’s room,” you said as you entered it, “Do what you must.”

The first thing the Doc noticed was just how neat the room was. He had expected it to be a mess but everything was in order.

“And was this how you found the room?” he asked

“I moved a few pillows but I put them back where I found them,” you said sitting down on the bed, “But yes, this was how we found it.”

“Don’t sit down!” snapped the Doc

“And why not?”

“You could be disturbing important evidence.”

You rolled your eyes and stood up. You leant against the wall as you watched him search.

“We looked all over,” you said, “It isn’t here.”

“Well did you look under the bed.”

Before you could answer he got down and lifted up the duvet. To his surprise he didn’t see anything under there. He rose to his feet and you just raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not completely stupid.” you said

“Never said that you were.”

“You implied it,” you said walking over to him, “All the years of inbreeding might’ve caused some issues but stupidity isn’t one of them. Or is it that you think that I’m too snobbish to get on my hands and knees.”

“Oh no,” he said, “Seeing you in better light clearly shows to me that you’re very used to getting on your knees.”

“How-“ you took a deep breath and put your hands up, “This is getting us nowhere. Do you have any ideas about who could’ve taken the necklace?”

“Give me a second.”

The Doc walked to the door and inspected it. He opened and shut it a couple of times before walking over to the window. He tried to open it but it was locked.

“Was the door locked when you came in?”

“I locked it before the party,” you said, “In the morning it was unlocked.”

“Where’s the key.”

“In the butler’s room,” you said, “He was in there all night. Nobody could’ve come in a stolen it.”

“So,” he said, “We’re looking for someone who made a copy of the key-“

“Impossible,” you said, “All our servants have been thoroughly checked before we employed them. We don’t hire anyone with criminal connections.”

“Or,” he continued, “Someone who has picked the lock.”

“That would take time,” you said, “It’s a very modern lock and hard to pick. Besides, people passed by this door all night. The person picking the lock would’ve been spotted. Oh!”

“What?”

“I’ve had an idea.”

“Yes?”

“Father owns a bank-“

“Of course he does.”

“Quiet! A perk of being employed by us is having a bank account there.”

“Ok, how is this relevant?”

“What if someone was paid to steal the key and make a copy? The money would be in that account!”

“That isn’t a completely awful idea.”

“I know.”

“But how can we check the accounts?”

“What part of ‘my father owns a bank’ don’t you understand? Come on Sherlock, we have a lead to follow.”


	5. Chapter 5

You heels clicked against the marble floor as you strode across the bank towards the counters. The Doctor followed closely behind you trying to ignore the curious looks people gave the two of you. You looked straight ahead and pushed to the front of the queue paying no attention to the grumbles of the customers.

“I would like to speak to the manager.” You said coolly

The bank teller looked up at you and raised an eyebrow.

“You’ll have to get to the back of the line miss,” he said, “There are other customers waiting.”

You sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose.

“You know I really hate doing this.” You said looking at the Doctor

“Doing what?” he asked although he didn’t have to wait long to find out.

“My name is Lady Y/n L/n,” you said firmly and immediately everyone fell silent, “And my father owns this bank. You will get the manager for me or I will see to it that you will never work in this bank again. Do you understand me?”

No one spoke. Everyone was staring at you and the Doctor wished that the ground would swallow him up. Suddenly the sound of running feet was heard and a door slammed open. You and him turned around at the same time and a man wearing a pin striped suit hurried over to the two of you.

“Miss L/n,” he said, “So sorry for the inconvenience. If you’ll step this way.”

You quickly followed the manager and beckoned the Doctor to follow. This caused the manager to pause slightly but one glare from you caused him to back down.

“You’re not really going to get that person fired are you?” the Doctor whispered

“Of course not,” you replied, “Empty threat that usually does the trick. I don’t like throwing Daddy’s name around but it gets the job done.”

You and the Doctor were quickly ushered into the manager’s office. He sat down behind a large oak desk which had a dark green leather top. He gave the two of you a strained smile and said,

“How can I be of assistance?”

You sat down in one of the chairs and the Doctor slowly sat down in the other. He looked at you and you said,

“I need to see the bank statements from my staff.”

“Bank statements,” the manager laughed, “I’m afraid I can’t show you those.”

“Why not?”

“You see, Miss L/n,” said the manager looking at you over his glasses, “I’m not sure you’ll understand what is in-“

“Excuse me!” you stood up and slammed your hands on the table, “You do not speak to me in that manner! Do not assume that I am stupid and that I will not understand this because I assure you I can. Now, you will show me those account books or,” here you smirked and lowered your voice, “I’ll tell my father about that affair you think you’re keeping secret. You know, the one with you secretary.”

The manager paled at your words.

“You wouldn’t,” he said, “You don’t have the authority.”

“I assure you that I do,” you said, “Now those account ledgers please.”

“Right,” the manager stood up and adjusted his tie, “I’ll set them up in a separate room for you. If you give me a couple of minutes.”

He hurried out of the room and you sat back down smiling. The Doctor looked over at you and said,

“That was impressive.”

“You think so,” you said, “Thanks. I always wanted to do that. Arrogant dick.”

“Are you sure that there’s going to be something in these ledgers?”

“You’re the detective,” you replied as you lit a cigarette, “Hopefully.”

The two of you lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Occasionally he would glance at you out of the corner of his eye. You weren’t at all what he was expecting you to be. You were far more relaxed then his other clients despite the circumstances on why you hired him. You looked over at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Is there something on my face?” you asked

“Err no,” he said looking away, “Why?”

“Then why do you keep looking at me.”

The Doctor didn’t have an answer. Maybe it was because of the way the light hit you and brought out the stunning colour of your eyes or maybe it was how you hair frames your face. You put of you cigarette and turned to face him resting your chin in the palm of your hand. The smile tugged at the corner of you red lips and the Doctor’s gaze dropped of them before he quickly looked back up at you.

“Well,” you said, “I’m waiting.”

At that moment the Doctor was saved. The manager came back into the room and said,

“The ledgers are ready for you. If you’ll follow me I’ll show you where they are. You’ll have a room to yourself.”

The Doctor jumped up to his feet and quickly followed him. He didn’t understand why you were making him feel so awkward but he didn’t like it. He needed to finish this case as soon as possible and get away from you.

He only hoped that he could forget about you once it was finished.


	6. Chapter 6

You weren’t interested in talking to the Doctor and made that point very clear. As soon as the two of you entered the room you immediately grabbed a ledger and flicked it open. The Doctor stood awkwardly near the door until you said,

“I thought I hired you to solve this case. So far it seems that I’ve been doing all the hard work.”

“Well I’m sorry,” he said harshly, “Not all of us have your connections.”

He grabbed a random ledger and sat down on the side of the table furthest away from you. You tucked a cigarette behind your ear and occasionally noticed the Doctor glancing at you. You closed your ledger with a snap, annoyed that you hadn’t been able to find anything. You tossed it aside, noting the way the Doctor winced when it landed, a grabbed another. The two of you worked in complete silence for another fifteen minutes before the Doctor said,

“How much do you pay your staff?”

“Twenty five pounds per year. Why?”

“Come here. I think I might’ve found something.”

You jumped to your feet and quickly made your way to the Doctor’s side. You leant down and examined the ledger. This close the Doctor could smell your perfume, citrusy and he doubted he would ever get it out of his head.

“Where am I meant to be looking?”

“Oh right,” your voice snapped the Doctor out of his daydream, “Here.”

He pointed at a line in the ledger and you leant down. You whistled and raised your eyebrows.

“Five hundred pounds.” you muttered

“I know for someone like you that isn’t a lot of money.”

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. You weren’t about to be goaded into having a fight with him.

“I understand that for someone who isn’t in my position that’s a lot of money,” you replied coolly, “Now we just got to- ah.”

“What? That doesn’t sound very positive.”

You tapped the name in the book and grimaced.

“Alice Kelly,” you said, “Newest member of staff. Sweet girl but a bit naïve. Really I should’ve expected something like this.”

You stood up and stretched you back. You winced as it made a cracking noise and said,

“Come on Doc, we’ve got a maid to question.”

*

The journey back to your house was in silence but the Doctor could tell that you were buzzing with excitement. You practically bounded up the stairs and flung open the door to your house. Peterson almost closed the door on the Doctor’s face but he managed to slip passed him. This was met but a disapproving glare but the Doctor didn’t pay Peterson any attention.

“Stop that Peterson,” you said without turning around, “We’re employing him to save me so you could at least show him some common decency.”

“As you wish ma’am.”

“And Peterson,” you spun around on your heel, “Bring Kelly in would you.”

“Alice? What do you want with her?”

You looked at the stairs to see Richard walking down. He had a concerned expression on his face and the Doctor made a note of it. You just grinned and bounded towards him.

“We have a lead,” you said as you grabbed his arms, “Isn’t this fantastic! We’re finally getting somewhere!”

You ran off calling out Alice’s name. Richard sighed and walked slowly after you followed closely by the Doctor.

 _‘This is suddenly becoming a lot more interesting.’_ Thought the Doc


	7. Chapter 7

“Now then Alice,” you said, “We have a few questions to ask you.”

Alice looked nervously between you and the Doctor and Richard stood in the doorway. You and the Doc were sitting down and Alice had shrunk back in her chair. He had an anxious look on his face but you paid no attention to it. You had more important things to focus on, mainly the soon recovery of the necklace.

“O… ok ma’am.”

“We noticed,” said the Doc, “That there is a large sum of money in your bank account.”

Alice’s eyes flicked to you and you nodded. Alice coughed slightly and said,

“Is there?”

“How did you come to get it?”

“I’m not sure-“

“Unless there’s a mistake in the paperwork,” said the Doc, “Possible fraud, forging earnings. Very serious crime.” He looked at you. “I think this should be investigated further, don’t you?”

“Oh of course,” you said trying not to smile, “Could be very serious. Prison time I expect.”

“What?” said Alice desperately, “Prison? I… I can’t go to prison. I have to look after my mother!”

“I’m afraid that’s the consequence of committing a crime.” You said as you started to stand

“But he made me promise not to tell!”

You and the Doc looked at each other again and you slowly sat back down.

“Who made you promise?” asked the Doc

“I can’t say.”

“Alice this could be the only thing that could save you.”

“But I promised.”

“Y/n,” said Richard, “Drop it.”

You turned around and raised an eyebrow at him. Now this had caught your attention. You stood up and said,

“I’ll be back in a second Doc. I need to have a word with my brother.”

You grabbed your brother’s arm and dragged him away. Once the two of you were a suitable distance away you leant against the wall and said,

“Why do you care so much?”

“I just think you’re being a bit harsh.”

“A bit harsh? A priceless family heirloom has been stolen and you think I’m being a bit harsh?”

“It’s clear that she doesn’t know anything.”

“There was five hundred pounds in her account! If that isn’t suspicious I don’t know what is.”

“You know about the five hundred.”

“Wh… Oh no.”

“What?”

“Richard,” you ran a hand over your face, “What have you done.”

“I don’t know-“

“You fucked her didn’t you.”

“No!”

“Unfortunately I’m your sister,” you said, “I can tell when you’re lying.”

“Damn it.”

“You’ve really messed up.”

“It’s nothing I haven’t sorted out before. I’ll survive any scandal. Besides, who do you think people will believe? Me or a servant.”

“Still,” you rubbed your eye, “You shouldn’t have.”

“I was lonely,” he said, “It was nice to find comfort in someone who adores me.”

“Even though that person couldn’t say no.”

“Who do you think I am?” snapped Richard, “Alright, I am not a good person I’ll admit that. But I would never, and I repeat never, force myself on someone.”

“Alright, alright I’m sorry,” you said, “So let me guess, she was with you and you got her pregnant.”

“More or less.”

“Well, that explains the money. I better go and explain things.”

You marched back to the room and opened the door. The Doc looked annoyed and Alice looked terrified. The Doc looked up and quickly went over to you. You shut the door and said,

“My brother got her pregnant.”

“Ah.”

“And gave her the money to probably make her quiet and leave us alone.”

“Five hundred won’t get her far.”

“Not our problem.”

“But she’s carrying his child.”

“And now we’re back to square one.”

“For one moment will you stop thinking about yourself!”

You jumped when the Doc yelled.

“Your brother has ruined that girl’s life! You’re rich enough to survive a scandal but she isn’t! Stop thinking about yourself and look at other people’s lives for once! You’re being selfish!”

Silence fell between the two of you. You were shocked at his outburst and the Doc was breathing deeply. Richard walked towards the two of you and you said,

“You’re right.”

“Huh?”

“I am selfish.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not the one you should be apologising to.”

“Right.”

Awkward silence settled over you again and it was Richard who broke it. He coughed and you and the Doc looked sharply at him.

“As amusing as it is seeing you apologising,” he said, “You weren’t listening to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I hadn’t given her any money.”

“So,” said the Doc looking back at the room where Alice was in, “Who did?”

“That is a very good question,” you said, “And one I’m going to get to the bottom of.”

“I think,” said the Doc, “You should leave this one to me.”

Before you had time to protest the Doc walked swiftly into the room and closed the door behind him leaving you and Richard out. All you could was wait and hope he got results.


End file.
